Negotiations on track to finalise US trade deal, Indian delegation may visit Washington
India is continuing negotiations with the US to finalise a trade deal, said Rajesh Agrawal, special secretary in the department of commerce. Indian trade negotiators are also slated to visit the US soon to carry on talks on the proposed bilateral trade agreement (BTA), and the first tranche of the deal, another official said.The discussions are being held in both physical and virtual modes, the official said. While the dates of the visit are still being finalised, it could happen as early as next week, the official said, requesting anonymity. 
Both sides are aiming to conclude the first phase of the BTA by Fall this year, according to Agrawal. Prior to that, the two countries are looking to finalise an interim trade deal, he said. “Now we are integrating with major markets also…we just concluded an agreement with the UK; we are in an advanced stage of negotiations with the European Union; we are trying to negotiate and finalise a deal with the US,” said Agrawal, the chief Indian negotiator of the BTA, at an event organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).The US government has meanwhile extended a 90-day pause on imposing reciprocal tariffs for most of its trading partners to August 1 from July 9. For India, the US has proposed a 26% tariff. On Monday, US president Donald Trump declared that Washington is close to signing a trade deal with New Delhi.Agrawal noted that India has so far implemented more than 14 Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) with 26 countries. “We have done (a trade pact) with Australia and UAE. We are in negotiations with New Zealand…So, the idea is that we are also integrating in a big way with the major trading partners and major economies,” said Agrawal. “Our tariffs will be bilaterally cut... People will be able to make long-term investment decisions based on this predictability of tariff and regulatory landscape... In this logistics will also be a major determinant,” he said.Washington visit Earlier this month, the Indian team led by Agrawal returned from Washington after concluding talks on the pact. During the discussions, which got extended to more than a week, New Delhi hardened its stance on opening the politically and economically-sensitive agriculture and dairy sectors.The US has announced 25-50% tariffs on 20-odd countries including Brazil, Japan, and South Korea besides sending tariff letters to various trade partners, with which the US does not have a trade deal. The new tariffs mentioned in the letters are close to the reciprocal tariffs announced by Trump on April 2 before he moved to pause them till July 9 except keeping a baseline tariff of 10% on all these countries. India has not received a letter from the US yet. India and the US are aiming to more than double bilateral trade to $500 billion by 2030 from the current $191 billion. The US remained India’s largest trading partner for the fourth straight year in 2024-25, with total bilateral trade at $131.84 billion. Exports to the US rose 11.6% in FY25 to $86.51 billion while imports grew 7.4% to $45.33 billion, resulting in a trade surplus of $41.2 billion. Logistics push At the CII event, Agrawal also said the government is working to reduce logistics costs for industry as logistics will play a key role in enhancing India’s share in world trade to the targeted 10% in the coming years from about 2% now. Noting that tariff reduction led by trade pacts, harmonisation of regulations, and creating an efficient logistics ecosystem has bolstered global value chains (GVCs) in the last 2-3 decades with 70% of global trade driven by GVCs, he said India’s participation in global value chains remains much lower than the major economies.
Both sides are aiming to conclude the first phase of the BTA by Fall this year, according to Agrawal. Prior to that, the two countries are looking to finalise an interim trade deal, he said. “Now we are integrating with major markets also…we just concluded an agreement with the UK; we are in an advanced stage of negotiations with the European Union; we are trying to negotiate and finalise a deal with the US,” said Agrawal, the chief Indian negotiator of the BTA, at an event organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).The US government has meanwhile extended a 90-day pause on imposing reciprocal tariffs for most of its trading partners to August 1 from July 9. For India, the US has proposed a 26% tariff. On Monday, US president Donald Trump declared that Washington is close to signing a trade deal with New Delhi.Agrawal noted that India has so far implemented more than 14 Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) with 26 countries. “We have done (a trade pact) with Australia and UAE. We are in negotiations with New Zealand…So, the idea is that we are also integrating in a big way with the major trading partners and major economies,” said Agrawal. “Our tariffs will be bilaterally cut... People will be able to make long-term investment decisions based on this predictability of tariff and regulatory landscape... In this logistics will also be a major determinant,” he said.Washington visit Earlier this month, the Indian team led by Agrawal returned from Washington after concluding talks on the pact. During the discussions, which got extended to more than a week, New Delhi hardened its stance on opening the politically and economically-sensitive agriculture and dairy sectors.The US has announced 25-50% tariffs on 20-odd countries including Brazil, Japan, and South Korea besides sending tariff letters to various trade partners, with which the US does not have a trade deal. The new tariffs mentioned in the letters are close to the reciprocal tariffs announced by Trump on April 2 before he moved to pause them till July 9 except keeping a baseline tariff of 10% on all these countries. India has not received a letter from the US yet. India and the US are aiming to more than double bilateral trade to $500 billion by 2030 from the current $191 billion. The US remained India’s largest trading partner for the fourth straight year in 2024-25, with total bilateral trade at $131.84 billion. Exports to the US rose 11.6% in FY25 to $86.51 billion while imports grew 7.4% to $45.33 billion, resulting in a trade surplus of $41.2 billion. Logistics push At the CII event, Agrawal also said the government is working to reduce logistics costs for industry as logistics will play a key role in enhancing India’s share in world trade to the targeted 10% in the coming years from about 2% now. Noting that tariff reduction led by trade pacts, harmonisation of regulations, and creating an efficient logistics ecosystem has bolstered global value chains (GVCs) in the last 2-3 decades with 70% of global trade driven by GVCs, he said India’s participation in global value chains remains much lower than the major economies.
economictimes
